ABC News' 20/20 Probes Into San Diego Loan Modification Firm

A recent investigative report on ABC News' 20/20 program probed into the activities of San Diego, California loan modification firm People's First Financial:

• [L]ast year, [Jay] Nichols was employed as a salesman at what he describes as an aggressive loan modification company, People's First Financial in San Diego. He said the mantra was: "Sell -- sell hard ... trying to get as much money as they could, as quickly as they could." He said the sales staff was revved up at training sessions that included such movies as "Boiler Room," which glamorized a hard sell.

• Negotiating loan modifications can be a legitimate service, but a current People's First Financial employee who asked not to be identified said customers were signed up even when they had almost no chance of qualifying for bank renegotiation. "And sometimes the salesperson just didn't care to check if they even could," the employee said.

• Former customers said they were lured in by talk of huge cuts in monthly payments, and some say they were even told it was a government-sponsored program. Nichols confirmed that other salesman made this kind of false claim.

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• People's First was doing big business, with as many as 40 salespeople selling to hundreds of often desperate homeowners. But in the back room, where the actual bank negotiations took place, for months a handful of workers were completely overwhelmed, "surrounded by files," said Nichols. "We have files in there since last June and July that we still have, and the reason they weren't worked on is because they were lost," said the current employee.

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• [One couple] said People's First refused to honor their money back guarantee. Several other former customers had similar complaints about collecting on that refund. Former employees confirm that their bosses were very resistant to paying anyone back.

For more, see 'Bad to Really Bad': Foreclosure Rescue Gone Wrong ('20/20' Seeks Answers From CEO of One Loan Modification Company).